


What They Kept

by pressdbtwnpages



Category: Panic At The Disco
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-13
Updated: 2007-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-16 03:30:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pressdbtwnpages/pseuds/pressdbtwnpages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>The memories pile up around them and get in their way.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	What They Kept

**Author's Note:**

> For the [Feb. 3 prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/we_are_cities/33236.html#cutid1) at [](http://community.livejournal.com/we_are_cities/profile)[**we_are_cities**](http://community.livejournal.com/we_are_cities/). [](http://wordsaremyfaith.livejournal.com/profile)[**wordsaremyfaith**](http://wordsaremyfaith.livejournal.com/) _Originally posted to[](http://community.livejournal.com/we_are_cities/profile)[ **we_are_cities**](http://community.livejournal.com/we_are_cities/) 2-13-07. </small> _

There are shoeboxes of photos crowded throughout the bus. Under bunks and tucked away in little nooks and perched on ledges. Those are just the ones from the second half of this last tour. The rest have been wrapped in tape and sent randomly to one or another of their homes.

Someday, when they’re old and gray and all living in a house together and remembering what it was like to be young and famous they’ll all collaborate together and make impressive scrapbooks. Ryan can’t throw anything away, so there’s a ticket from their first show floating around one of the boxes, and one from their first show with Jon. There are scraps of diner napkins with lyrics written on them, and a swatch of Brendon’s Nothing Rhymes With Circus costume from when he ripped it and it had to be repaired. He pressed it into Ryan’s hands after being told off by their unofficial seamstress for not only ripping it, but then tearing a hole in it. Ryan beamed when he realized what he was holding. There are receipts for gas, and receipts for truck stops where all they bought was candy. There are hundreds of snapped guitar strings and a few drumsticks stashed randomly, their significance forgotten. There are maps and airline tickets, for the big stuff now, and not just for flying to New York and back which they do too much now to be impressed by. Brendon wanted to keep the bottle from Reading, but Jon said ‘no’ stonily and kicked it off the stage.

The memories pile up around them and get in their way. The boxes have turned into weapons in more than a few fights and been shoved off couches and bunks and benches more times than anyone can recall. The Postal Service isn’t gentle either, but memories don’t break.

When Pete comes by the bus and sees the clutter, he makes fun of them. Asks if there aren’t enough magazine articles and television interviews to preserve their memories. Jon pats his shoulder and says laughingly, “No artistic sensibility, this one" at the same time that Brendon rolls his eyes and says, “Those don’t count!”

When they are old and gray, they will argue over which venue that photo was taken at and why this drumstick has been saved. They will try to come up with clever uses for broken guitar strings; Brendon will probably attempt to braid them while moaning at Jon about the bottle they didn’t save. Spencer will tell stories about fights with label executives that none of them ever knew occurred and Jon will be able to correctly identify the events in pictures without looking at the explanation on the back almost every time. Ryan will remember small details and try to recreate their elaborate makeup designs on paper but it won’t work. Eventually, Spencer will come home with hairspray and a box of old makeup he bought on eBay and Ryan’s drawings will spring forth like he is fifty years younger and not arthritic and creaky. Something about the project will bring them back to life, let them sit on the floor and sprawl and see each other as young men again. They'll still call Jon the old man, even when Brendon’s the one with the cane and Spencer’s hair is the whitest. It won't be sad though, because Brendon will whack people with his cane and call his victims “young whippersnappers” in the old man voice that makes the others laugh, and Spencer will tell Ryan he’s just jealous because at least Spencer still has hair. Ryan will flip him off in retaliation, of course.

The scrapbook, it will be huge, and have to be special ordered and even then it won't be enough. It will get finished right around the time Jon starts to misidentify pictures and Ryan and Spencer start to exchange worried looks. Brendon will be the one who totters across the room saying, “Guys, guys, it’s okay” and shoves the scrapbook into Jon’s lap. They'll sit together flipping through the book, helping each other remember, and it will feel like their whole journey was just to get to right now.


End file.
